Halford Commercial Fleet Services fined £600,000 after employee killed on M56 slip road

Halford Commercial Fleet Services Limited, formerly Lodge Tyre Company Limited (The), has been fined after the death of 21-year-old employee Niall Fawcett. The incident happened on 2 August 2024 on a slip road at junction 7 of the M56 near Bowdon.

What happened

Mr Fawcett was called out to replace a blown-out tyre on a low-profile truck. He was working beneath the vehicle, which is understood to have slipped off a bottle jack and landed on him. He suffered fatal head injuries.

What the inspectors found

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated. It found the company had not properly assessed the risks of replacing a tyre on a low-profile vehicle. Employees had also not been given suitable instructions, including on when a truck should be recovered rather than repaired at the roadside.

Inspectors also found that Mr Fawcett had obtained his licence to work on commercial tyres at the roadside only after joining the company, less than four months before his death. Even so, nobody supervised him or checked that he was working safely.

The sentence

The company, based in Redditch, Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. At Warrington Magistrates' Court on 3 November 2026 it was fined £600,000. It must also pay a victim surcharge of £200 and costs of £24,203.

Mr Fawcett's mother, Sharon, said in her victim personal statement that her son had his whole life ahead of him and had been planning to marry the following year. She added: "Niall went to work that day and should have been safe."

HSE Principal Inspector Laura Royales said the case should remind employers of the importance of assessing risks, giving the right instructions and providing adequate supervision.